French Open is nearly a guarantee. Maybe too much of an ask for him to win the others this time round

Sunset of Age

12-27-2008, 11:57 AM

At least one. RG is a given and he'll have good chances at the AO and at Wimbly (if he remains healthy of course).

MurrayFan1

12-27-2008, 12:06 PM

French and one other.

Foxy

12-27-2008, 12:52 PM

At least FOUR! :devil:

EnriqueIG8

12-27-2008, 12:55 PM

Roland Garros for sure, next to the Australian Open/US Open possibly.

Horatio Caine

12-27-2008, 01:45 PM

Obviously he is still the man to beat on clay (especially over 5 sets), so the French Open is his to lose. The soft grass at Wimbledon is ideal for his troublesome knees (and he is one of a few players who moves well on this surface), and if the surface isn't much faster than 2007, he has a legitimate shot at that title as well. Australian Open isn't out of the question either. US Open should continue to elude him...

I'll go with 1 as there are several players stronger than him on hard courts, and it is so tough to win the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back (even if he has already done it once before).

Jimnik

12-27-2008, 01:52 PM

He won't be winning any hard court slams.

buzz

12-27-2008, 02:57 PM

1 is the most probable I think. Wimbledon has hardly been defended by baseliners, although Borg was some kind of Nadal of course. OA there are a lot of guys who can beat him there, still a small chance. Uso not likely at all I think. RG he will probably win if he is healthy again.

ms. double fault

12-27-2008, 03:24 PM

i think "just" the french. hes definitely getting better and better, but i think he will struggle a lot with various injuries...

Arkulari

12-27-2008, 04:04 PM

At least one. RG is a given and he'll have good chances at the AO and at Wimbly (if he remains healthy of course).

Agree with you, but his chances at Wimby mostly depend on Roger's form :o
AO is a wildguess :cool:

Sunset of Age

12-27-2008, 04:17 PM

Agree with you, but his chances at Wimby mostly depend on Roger's form :o
AO is a wildguess :cool:

If it were up to me, I'd like to see them split them evenly among them.
Rafa take the AO and RG, and Roger Wimbly and USO. :angel:

habibko

12-27-2008, 04:21 PM

only the French Open and only if he took extra care of himself, the way he goes kamihamiha in every clay season can't be good to his body, we saw what happened at Rome 2008, I guess ruling out MC this year would be a great call, Wimbledon or other HC slams are a big ask.

Foxy

12-27-2008, 04:34 PM

If it were up to me, I'd like to see them split them evenly among them.
Rafa take the AO and RG, and Roger Wimbly and USO. :angel:

How noble of you.
Doesn't suit me, anyway.

Sunset of Age

12-27-2008, 04:38 PM

How noble of you.
Doesn't suit me, anyway.

You don't need to spell out the obvious to me, hater.

habibko

12-27-2008, 04:42 PM

If it were up to me, I'd like to see them split them evenly among them.
Rafa take the AO and RG, and Roger Wimbly and USO. :angel:

how about Rafa takes AO and USO, and Roger takes Wimbly and RG, everyone will be happy :rolleyes:

Sunset of Age

12-27-2008, 04:51 PM

how about Rafa takes AO and USO, and Roger takes Wimbly and RG, everyone will be happy :rolleyes:

Seems less likely to me, don't you agree? ;)

Johnny Groove

12-27-2008, 05:27 PM

Nadal takes AO and USO
Federer takes RG
Murray takes Wimbledon

Djokovic gets nothing. Everyone is happy

Venle

12-27-2008, 05:29 PM

One, no need to define which one. ;)

GlennMirnyi

12-27-2008, 05:48 PM

I hope none, for the sake of tennis.

ORGASMATRON

12-27-2008, 07:01 PM

These things are always hard to predict, i mean who would have thought Rafa would have had the year he had in '08? And who would have thought The Great One would win only one slam? I think Rafa would struggle to win 3 slams in a year though like Roger. He's obviously the favorite at the french and at wimby he is also a favorite. The hrd court slams is harder for him. Its strange how he can do so well at a fast serfuce like wimby but struggle at the hard court slams, never quite got that. Of the hard courts hes got a better chance at the Australian i feel. He might struggle against the top four though, but i wouldnt put much beyond Rafa.

Sunset of Age

12-27-2008, 07:06 PM

^^ Wimbly isn't a fast surface anymore. That explains a lot. ;)

sawan66278

12-27-2008, 07:57 PM

Two if healthy; one if semi-healthy.

ORGASMATRON

12-27-2008, 07:59 PM

^^ Wimbly isn't a fast surface anymore. That explains a lot. ;)

:confused: So you saying wimby is slower the the US and Oz?

LinkMage

12-27-2008, 08:02 PM

Roland Garros

The most dull Grand Slam, it should get cancelled. It is a borefest. They should just hand the trophy to Nadull and be done with it.

Sunset of Age

12-27-2008, 08:04 PM

:confused: So you saying wimby is slower the the US and Oz?

It is most definitely slower than the USO, and might as well be slower or comparable to the AO.

Ackms421

12-27-2008, 08:13 PM

He should win two. He's got at least one more Wimbledon in him. And, you know, the grass speed issue annoys me. Federer and Sampras have both said they do not believe it is slower now. Federer has played more matches there than anyone else over the past six years, so he should know. Also, and I'm not sure if this has been addressed before, but if the grass is so different now, how come Wimbledon remains the only slam Venus Williams has won post 2001? If the grass were so different, she wouldn't shine only there every year. She won it in 2000 for the first time and has only been able to beat top players consistently on that same grass in recent years...

Sunset of Age

12-27-2008, 08:22 PM

^^ Sorry, but that's not true. Federer has been asked why he didn't serve and volley at Wimbly anymore, and the answer was: because it's so slow.
So it may annoy you, but alas - it's a fact.

That doesn't take anything away from Rafa's qualities on the surface. Apparently there are only two players managing to play well on it nowadays. Not surprisingly, the same two players who do well on RG just the same.

ExpectedWinner

12-27-2008, 08:38 PM

5 Slams are in the bag (if we count Miami).

ORGASMATRON

12-27-2008, 09:01 PM

It is most definitely slower than the USO, and might as well be slower or comparable to the AO.

Have you played there? Just asking cos i really want to know for sure. I dont think Wimbledon is slow by any means though, even though its slower then before. Your probably right about the US , but not sure how it compares with Oz.

Sunset of Age

12-27-2008, 09:37 PM

Have you played there? Just asking cos i really want to know for sure. I dont think Wimbledon is slow by any means though, even though its slower then before. Your probably right about the US , but not sure how it compares with Oz.

I wish I had! :D
No, I only base my opinion on what I've been reading about it... for what that's worth. The general consensus seems to be that Wimbledon has been slowed down quite a bit since around 2001. Of course, whether a court is 'slow' or 'fast' is never a 'written-in-stone' stone fact, and I wonder whether a grass court and a hard court (AO for this matter) can even be compared at all, as there are many other factors important as well (higher/lower bounces for instance).

ORGASMATRON

12-27-2008, 09:51 PM

I wish I had! :D
No, I only base my opinion on what I've been reading about it... for what that's worth. The general consensus seems to be that Wimbledon has been slowed down quite a bit since around 2001. Of course, whether a court is 'slow' or 'fast' is never a 'written-in-stone' stone fact, and I wonder whether a grass court and a hard court (AO for this matter) can even be compared at all, as there are many other factors important as well (higher/lower bounces for instance).

Yeah good point. Maybe Rafa likes the ball to either bounce really high or really low, and not so much the inbetween.

Sunset of Age

12-27-2008, 09:55 PM

Yeah good point. Maybe Rafa likes the ball to either bounce really high or really low, and not so much the inbetween.

From what I know, he really prefers high bounces more than anything.

ORGASMATRON

12-27-2008, 10:01 PM

Well that is pretty obvious, im just interested in why he would like wimby so much when the bounce is low and he has a western grip.

Sunset of Age

12-27-2008, 10:23 PM

Well that is pretty obvious, im just interested in why he would like wimby so much when the bounce is low and he has a western grip.

The bounce has become a lot higher as well. There was footage about that shown on the BBC during one of the many rain breaks during this year's final (with computer analysis, showing the much higher bounces currently than like it was some X years ago). Besides this, natural surfaces like grass and clay appear to be easier on a player's joints, so it's not that surprising that Rafa likes the grass very much indeed - as is shown by three subsequent finals.

ORGASMATRON

12-27-2008, 10:25 PM

The bounce has become a lot higher as well. There was footage about that shown on the BBC during one of the many rain breaks during this year's final (with computer analysis, showing the much higher bounces currently than like it was some X years ago). Besides this, natural surfaces like grass and clay appear to be easier on a player's joints, so it's not that surprising that Rafa likes the grass very much indeed - as is shown by three subsequent finals.

Yeah another good point, he is a runner so that defeinitely makes sense.

rafa_maniac

12-27-2008, 10:39 PM

Well, the French is in bag. The rest is a crapshoot. He has a shot at both Aus Open and Wimbledon, so I'll say he wins one of them (I'll guess the Aus). That makes 2.

Henry Chinaski

12-27-2008, 10:47 PM

Well that is pretty obvious, im just interested in why he would like wimby so much when the bounce is low and he has a western grip.

it's easier on his joints than hardcourts, it receives his serve and slice better, he arrives on the surface with sky high confidence having been handing out beatdowns to all-comers on the clay. he's also convinced himself of the need to play more aggressively on grass while he's still content to grind all the time on hardcourts.

also there's less competition on grass. no one can play on it these days. even the Brit prefers hardcourts.

Sunset of Age

12-27-2008, 10:55 PM

also there's less competition on grass. no one can play on it these days. even the Brit prefers hardcourts.

Absolutely, I should have added that as well. Apparently there are just TWO players nowadays who sort-of claim all the natural surface GSs...
There is this rumour that Wimbly might be speeded up again, now that the Brits seem to think they might have a contender there. :p

ORGASMATRON

12-27-2008, 11:05 PM

it's easier on his joints than hardcourts, it receives his serve and slice better, he arrives on the surface with sky high confidence having been handing out beatdowns to all-comers on the clay. he's also convinced himself of the need to play more aggressively on grass while he's still content to grind all the time on hardcourts.

also there's less competition on grass. no one can play on it these days. even the Brit prefers hardcourts.

Yeah i agree with this as well. I hope they make Wimbledon a little faster again, that would help Roger's chances a lot against Rafa there. Rafa would never have done so well at wimby if the courts were like before. I think slowing down the court was good, but not as much as they did. They still needed to give the serve and vollyers a chance. It was a beautiful sight to see Roger serve and volley. Now you never get the chance to see him do that anymore.

ORGASMATRON

12-27-2008, 11:07 PM

Btw i stil think Roger might be better off against Rafa if he served and volleyed more at wimby.

Henry Chinaski

12-27-2008, 11:11 PM

It's slower alright but that's no excuse to s/v as little as Fed does. Bjorkman, Stepanek, Lopez and Mahut for example have shown in the last few years that you can still s/v on grass. I'm not buying it Rog.

Sunset of Age

12-27-2008, 11:12 PM

^^ I agree with the both of you.

Kolya

12-27-2008, 11:21 PM

5.

ORGASMATRON

12-27-2008, 11:31 PM

Yeah i agree something is off here. Roger seems like a different player against Rafa, i dont think he thinks very clearly. He should go to the net a lot more. This is one of the reasons he lost so badly to Rafa in Paris this year. He should attack Rafa as much as possible, but he stands at the back of the court trading groundstrokes with the best clay courter ever. Doesnt make sense at all, and it even costed him his wimby crown now. Thats the only critique i have against The Great One, other then that his basically flawless.

Sunset of Age

12-27-2008, 11:37 PM

Yeah i agree something is off here. Roger seems like a different player against Rafa, i dont think he thinks very clearly. He should go to the net a lot more. This is one of the reasons he lost so badly to Rafa in Paris this year. He should attack Rafa as much as possible, but he stands at the back of the court trading groundstrokes with the best clay courter ever. Doesnt make sense at all, and it even costed him his wimby crown now. Thats the only critique i have against The Great One, other then that his basically flawless.

I must vehemently disagree with you here re: RG. Going to the net and playing S/V on CLAY against Rafa equals SUICIDE. Ever watched Rafa's exquisite passing shots? :shrug:
At Wimbly it is a different matter, so much I agree.

GlennMirnyi

12-27-2008, 11:43 PM

Well that is pretty obvious, im just interested in why he would like wimby so much when the bounce is low and he has a western grip.

Because the bounce isn't low anymore. Are you blind or you follow tennis by radio?

ORGASMATRON

12-27-2008, 11:44 PM

I must vehemently disagree with you here re: RG. Going to the net and playing S/V on CLAY against Rafa equals SUICIDE. Ever watched Rafa's exquisite passing shots? :shrug:
At Wimbly it is a different matter, so much I agree.

Well i never said he should serve and volley against Rafa on clay, but its pretty obvious he needs to do something drastic. Dontcha think?

ORGASMATRON

12-27-2008, 11:48 PM

Because the bounce isn't low anymore. Are you blind or you follow tennis by radio?

Neither:lol:

Sunset of Age

12-27-2008, 11:50 PM

Well i never said he should serve and volley against Rafa on clay, but its pretty obvious he needs to do something drastic. Dontcha think?

There's only so much someone can do as lies in that player's possibilities...! ;)
Rafa is perhaps the best clay-courter ever, so I don't see much of trouble with Roger losing to him on that surface. As long as Roger keeps on reaching the finals at all at RG, it's fine with me. :D
As for doing 'something drastic' - one should remember that Roger is a primarily a baseline player just as well. He might not feel comfortable at trying something else at times. He's a pretty stubborn fellow for that matter. ;)

GlennMirnyi

12-27-2008, 11:51 PM

Neither:lol:

Then why the preposterous question?

GlennMirnyi

12-27-2008, 11:53 PM

The most drastic thing Frauderer could do is HIT A FREAKING SLICE.

Henry Chinaski

12-28-2008, 12:14 AM

I must vehemently disagree with you here re: RG. Going to the net and playing S/V on CLAY against Rafa equals SUICIDE. Ever watched Rafa's exquisite passing shots? :shrug:
At Wimbly it is a different matter, so much I agree.

slugging from the back of court is suicide for Fed here too. better to go down trying something different than with the same half-arsed shit match in match out.

opeth84

12-28-2008, 12:25 AM

I don't think winning RG and Wimbledon again is totally out of the realm of possibility but it will be tougher in 2009 again i think.If Fed wants to beat Rafa at wimbledon he needs to be able to break serve a hell of alot more then he did in the final this year. I don't know if serve an volley will be the right direction but he can't get into rallies where his backhand is being battered constantly.

Corey Feldman

12-28-2008, 12:33 AM

0 shouldnt even be in this poll

we all know he's won the French Open already, c'mon.

hopefully it stays at 1

octatennis

12-28-2008, 12:39 AM

oz and us open.

KarlyM

12-28-2008, 01:27 AM

My crystal ball says 2. :)

HarryMan

12-28-2008, 01:39 AM

RG (and the entire clay season) is his to lose, I don't think there is someone man enough to even challenge him there (come on, this freak of nature has won 19 out of the last 21 tournaments on clay and we know how those two losses came :o); Nothing will chanage, Fed will talk (before facing Nadull) on how he thinks his game is in place, only to get schooled and owned by Nadull again and again and again :zzz::zzz::zzz:

I hope it stays at one slam, but with the kind of bounce his heavy top spin forehands were taking at Wimbledon this year (and last year), and considering "grass" is easier on his body to help him move with ease, I think he will be a force to beat at Wimby as well.

He manhandled his opponents there this year and I sure hope to god there is more challenge on his way on "grass" (the way he ripped apart Kiefer, Youzhny and Murray was sad to see considering these people have better "grass" game than him). Now that I think about it (and considering the slower and heavy bouncing "grass"), I am not sure whether someone can actually beat him there either (i.e. if he remains fit enough) :rolleyes:

I'll stick with one for now.

Foxy

12-28-2008, 07:51 AM

You don't need to spell out the obvious to me, hater.

True. I am a hater but I will never be a hypocrite like you.

federernadalfan

12-28-2008, 07:53 AM

same as 2008, fo and wimbly

ORGASMATRON

12-28-2008, 09:47 AM

slugging from the back of court is suicide for Fed here too. better to go down trying something different than with the same half-arsed shit match in match out.

Exactly my point. When you lose 1,3 and 1 you can try anything. Correction, you HAVE to try anything. :lol:

ORGASMATRON

12-28-2008, 09:54 AM

Exactly my point. When you lose 1,3 and 1 you can try anything. Correction, you HAVE to try anything. :lol:

You see what most people dont understand is that the beating Roger got from Nadal at this years french was a long time coming. The previous matches that was close at the french Roger was doing the same thing as this year, nothing changed. Nadal just realized how stupid Roger was, and forgot playing against his name. A perfect example of what i am talking about is what Rafa is doing at Wimbledon. Every year he was adjusting his game and playing a little smarter at wimby untill finally he broke through. In stark contrast to this Roger changed nothing at the french, he just arrogently tried to beat Nadal by attacking his strengths. Like i said before, this is the only critisism i have of Roger in an otherwise flawless career.

Igaarg

12-28-2008, 06:11 PM

I don´t know.

RagingLamb

12-28-2008, 06:27 PM

RG + 1 other slam

l_mac

12-29-2008, 12:41 AM

RG (and the entire clay season) is his to lose, I don't think there is someone man enough to even challenge him there (come on, this freak of nature has won 19 out of the last 21 tournaments on clay and we know how those two losses came :o); Nothing will chanage, Fed will talk (before facing Nadull) on how he thinks his game is in place, only to get schooled and owned by Nadull again and again and again :zzz::zzz::zzz:

I hope it stays at one slam, but with the kind of bounce his heavy top spin forehands were taking at Wimbledon this year (and last year), and considering "grass" is easier on his body to help him move with ease, I think he will be a force to beat at Wimby as well.

He manhandled his opponents there this year and I sure hope to god there is more challenge on his way on "grass" (the way he ripped apart Kiefer, Youzhny and Murray was sad to see considering these people have better "grass" game than him). Now that I think about it (and considering the slower and heavy bouncing "grass"), I am not sure whether someone can actually beat him there either (i.e. if he remains fit enough) :rolleyes:

I'll stick with one for now.
Why do you write grass as "grass"?

Youzhny :lol: :rolls:

MIMIC

12-29-2008, 12:44 AM

Zero. Obviously, he's far and away the favorite at RG but shit happens. And in 2009, that shit will happen and he won't win the French Open.

I think the real question is how many Grand Slams will Melzer win next season?

He'll win 5 of those bad boys.

In a single year.

TMJordan

12-29-2008, 02:13 AM

I think the real question is how many Grand Slams will Melzer win next season?

He'll win 5 of those bad boys.

In a single year.

Yeah he should get 5, maybe 6.

You should have seen the way Jurgen was just toying with Rafito at the olympics, he only let him win because he wanted to pound some hot ass instead of winning the gold medal.

Understandable.

Clydey

12-29-2008, 02:20 AM

Yeah he should get 5, maybe 6.

You should have seen the way Jurgen was just toying with Rafito at the olympics, he only let him win because he wanted to pound some hot ass instead of winning the gold medal.

And that's exactly what he did the moment he stepped off court.

The press who were waiting for him understood that what Jurgen wants, Jurgen gets. They didn't pursue the matter.

Mateya

12-30-2008, 04:25 PM

Quality stuff :rolls:

However, Melzer is dating Cibulkova nowadays. I hope he didn't cheat on her. :confused:

biological

12-30-2008, 04:33 PM

I had to vote 0 because I voted 4 in the Fed poll :p

Perhaps more realistically, I think he'll win RG again. I hope not though, and I reckon it'll be a lot closer next year.

reggie1

12-30-2008, 09:28 PM

Quality stuff :rolls:

However, Melzer is dating Cibulkova nowadays. I hope he didn't cheat on her. :confused:

blimey, I wouldn't like to see her angry! :devil: :mad:

I reckon Rafa will win RG. :worship:

Sunset of Age

12-30-2008, 09:50 PM

blimey, I wouldn't like to see her angry! :devil: :mad:

I reckon Rafa will win RG. :worship:

:lol:

As for Rafa winning RG, that's as much as a GIVEN (when he's healthy of course). I'd like to see him take a HC GS as well. Just to *shut up* those who still think he's not capable of claiming big titles on that surface, despite him having already proven that on quite a few occasions. :D

meihaditalab

01-06-2009, 02:40 AM

If he plays at his best the french, wimbledon and the AO

NadalSharapova

04-09-2009, 06:50 PM

If he plays at his best the french, wimbledon and the AO

Good prediction mate.

However you can see there were quite a lot of clueless people who know little about tennis.